Rain lilies

We must have had about 4 inches of rain last night, which thrilled the rain lilies, also known as zephyr lilies, (Habranthus robustus), because they rewarded us with one of the best displays in ages. The photos tell the story.

Visiting my mother-in-law in Atlanta ...

My MIL lives in Buckhead, which, if you know Atlanta, is an area of grand homes and splendid gardens.

I've missed the dogwoods, but the azaleas are at their best, and I'm told that it's the "best best" for years.

My MIL is elderly, frail, and has a list of ailments as long as your arm. Each weekday is about trips to this clinic followed by appointments with that doctor. It's no vacation.

Whenever I can, I escape to the garden and its magnificent oaks, magnolias and tulip maples. I look up at these towering trees, breathe in their spirit and feel my own blood pressure sink. To paraphrase the King James version of Psalm 121, "I lift up mine eyes to the trees ..." The sun is warm and the flowers are glorious. It only takes a few minutes to feel restored.

Amazon lily

Sorry about the poor photo, I was experimenting and forgot to take better ones.

Anyway, for the first time my Amazon lily (Eucharis grandiflora), which I keep in a clay pot, has flowered. I've had the plant for years and always kept it in shade, per most horticultural recommendations. Then, I read somewhere that they like sun, so I moved it into a sunny pot, and Hey Presto, it flowered! Go figure!

Blue walking iris

My pots of Neomarica caerulea 'Regina' are beginning to bloom. These bigger versions of the blue walking iris are spectacular in a large pot raised off the ground allowing the bloom-bearing leaves to arch over.

Mystery solved! Plant ID revealed

It's Vicia acutifolia, a native vetch. I learned this from Suzanne Koptur, a biology professor at Florida International University. According to Dr. Koptur, it can be found in "many Florida counties."

The vetch continues to grow but it's being attacked by blackflies, which I'll need to deal with. It's got lots of tiny pods (click on the photo), so I'm sure it will seed itself again.

If anyone wants seeds, let me know.

Plant ID, anyone?

This tiny -- and very pretty -- little vetch appeared in a pot. Can anyone tell me what it is? Is it a wildflower? Is it a cultivar of some sort?

Art by M. Nature

The neoregelia bromeliads are beginning to flower around here; you can see a tiny pink one in the center of the plant surrounded by water.

But I do I think the artist was a little sloppy with the paintbrush!

Night blooming cactus

In the neighbors' yard. I don't know much about cacti, so would love to know what this is. Anyone?

Flower fragrances

I've often wondered why similar flower fragrances crop up in entirely unrelated species. Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is in bloom now and its perfume is the same as sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) and some petunias.

Unintentionally, I seem to have wound up with a lot of fragrant plants; perhaps that's because the tropics offer such an enormous variety. Of course, I have a gardenia. I also have lady of the night (Brunfelsia nitida), Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana,' four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa), frangipani (Plumeria sp.), various true jasmines, confederate jasmine and more.

Anyway, I asked my friend Scott, a neighborhood botanist and gardener, about the similarity of fragrances and he said that it's determined by the type of pollinator. Scented white flowers, for instance, are usually pollinated at night by moths. I had been wondering if there was a limited number of scents available to the plant world, but he said that there were thousands of compounds that plants use. (Ranging from the divine to the disgusting.)

I reckon nothing beats a damask rose, an Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac) or orange blossom for fragrance. Sadly, their essential oils are too expensive to use with abandon.

And some fragrances are simply overpowering. The night scented/blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is an example and I can't tolerate being close to it; I like it about two blocks away. Even the good old gardenia doesn't seem to know when enough is enough.